What Stars Are Made Of
by Idrelle Miocovani
Summary: Cressida wasn't afraid of making a mess. Neither, she discovered, was Sera. It was a good thing they found each other. An archive for short stories and drabbles written in response to writing challenges.
1. What Stars Are Made Of

**A/N:** This is an archive of short stories and drabbles featuring Cressida Cadash and Sera (although I might deviate to some of Cressida's friendships and other moments in the future). They are all responses to writing challenges and prompts given to me on tumblr. As I write as I receive prompts, these are posted out of chronological order (not that it really matters much). Thanks for reading!

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 **What Stars Are Made Of**

"Look up," Sera said. "What do you see?"

"Uh… stars?" Cressida was fairly certain she didn't give the right answer.

Sera blew a raspberry. Now she was _sure_ she didn't give the right answer.

"No, silly," Sera said, tugging on Cressida's arm and pulling her further up on the roof. "Not just _stars…_ What do you see?"

Cressida took a breath and looks again. She'd never thought this much about the sky before. After a lifetime spent mostly underground, navigating backwards pathways through the Deep Roads, infiltrating the deepest alleys of Orzammar, then moving to the surface and doing deals in sewers and slums, she'd never spent this much time outdoors. At night. Confronted by twinkling things in the sky.

It was just sky, wasn't it?

Sera clutched her arm and nestled her chin on Cressida's shoulder. Snow still clung to Skyhold's walls as winter turned to spring, and it was particularly chilly outdoors at night. Cressida smiled as she snaked an arm around Sera's waist and pulled her closer, grateful for her warmth. Though she didn't particularly care for evening escapades around the (very cold) ramparts, this was nice.

This was very nice.

"Okay," Cressida said, looking up at the night sky once again. "What do I see? I see… I see lights. Lots of lights. Like little gems or jewels or silver—"

Sera snorted. "That's the dwarfiest answer I've ever heard."

Cressida frowned. "What else am I supposed to say?" she said. "My parents were from the Smith caste, I grew up surrounded by—"

"Okay, okay," Sera said. "I'm sorry. I was just teasing." She gripped Cressida's arm. "I like when you're dwarfy."

"Oh, _thank_ you!"

"Now you're making fun of me."

"Would I do that?" Cressida asked innocently.

Sera guffawed and kissed Cressida's cheek. "You still haven't told me what you see up there."

"Well, what do _you_ see up there?" Cressida shot back.

Sera paused. She arched her neck back, her short blonde hair falling in a tangle against the nape of her neck. "I see… Dreams. Twinkling little dreams people threw up there 'cause no one else was listening. And when that star stops twinkling, the dream's come to be."

Cressida smiled, brushing Sera's hair away from her face. "I like that," she said. "I like that so much more than silver or gemstones. You've got a beautiful heart, Sera. Don't let anyone take that away from you, all right?"

Sera grabbed Cressida's hand, her luminescent elven eyes glowing in the darkness. "How can they," she replied, "when you've got it already?"

Cressida broke down laughing. She fell forwards, resting her head against Sera's shoulder, cackling with laughter.

"Oi," Sera said, "you're such a git, y'know that, eh?"

"Yeah," Cressida retorted, "but I'm your git, right?"

Sera answered by smacking a kiss right on her lips.


	2. A Moment in Paradise

**A Moment in Paradise**

"Andraste's flaming arse, would you look at that?"

"Oh!" Cressida cocked her head to one side. _"Wow."_

They were deep in the Emerald Graves, a place of haunting green beauty. Between the tall trees, the flowing rivers and the spectacular waterfalls, Cressida was entranced. And then there were the elven ruins, ancient architecture of stone and marble enshrined in moss and vines, stretching in elegant arches to the skies. Cressida's breath was taken away every time she saw one. She and Sera had escaped from camp and gone exploring on their own when they had discovered the most majestic ruin of all.

It had to have been a bath. It was made of marble, with sweeping stone arches and walls surrounding the four corners of a sunken pool. A series of stone steps led down into the flowing water. Beneath the pool's surface, the floor glittered with mosaics in gold and bronze, depicting one elven god or another. Cressida didn't know—and Sera wouldn't, either. The water lapped lazily at the edges of the pool, clear as crystal. Somehow, it hadn't become stagnant. Perhaps there was some kind of internal system to keep the water flowing. Perhaps it was ancient magic. With the ancient elves, anything was possible.

Cressida had discovered many places of unexpected wonder while on her missions with the Inquisition. She had been lead to many new and wonderful places, brimming with ancient history and untapped beauty. It bemused her to think that only a few months ago, she had spoken harshly of the surface, letting her fears of the alien world above the Stone dictate her opinion of everything about it. But now she knew differently. Now she knew better.

And she had been lead straight into the heart of the spritely young woman who was her constant companion in everything. The young woman who was obscenely accurate with a bow. The young woman who somehow managed to run an underground network on word-of-mouth and bravado alone. The young woman whose playful and daring nature had completely and utterly captured her heart.

The young woman who was now in the middle of pulling off her clothes.

"Sera!" Cressida called, nearly tripping over the slippery boulders as she slid down the hill towards the edge of the pool. "What are you doing?"

Sera looked back at Cressida, lazily swinging her tunic around in a circle. She made a face, her nose wrinkling up and her eyes squinting. "What d'you think?" she said. "What else are you supposed to do with a big, marble bath? You're supposed to get in, dummy!"

She dropped her tunic and placed her hands on her hips, arcing her back in a provocative way. The sunlight glinted off her small, pale white breasts. Cressida could see the red marks where her breast band had rubbed against her skin.

"Besides," Sera continued, basking in her delight at being naked, "doesn't this place pretty much have a sign hanging over it that says, 'Spend time with your girlfriend here?'"

Cressida pursed her lips, trying to hide her smile. "Maybe." She had only recently learned to swim and was still slightly uncomfortable around water that was deep enough for her to bathe in. But for Sera, she would try just about anything—and the pool did look enticing.

Sera grinned and let her hands flap down to her sides. "Now you're getting it." She pulled off her leggings and threw them aside, whooping with glee as she splashed, butt-naked, down the marble steps into the water. She dove forwards, body tilting down, legs shooting up, and disappeared under the surface. She became a dark shadow along the pool floor, then resurfaced, standing waist-deep in the water, droplets spraying about her as she shook her short hair back and forth.

Sera shot a mischievous look at Cressida and planted her hands on her hips. "Don't make me come and get you," she said. Water glistened on her freckled skin. Ancestors, she really was beautiful. "'Cause I will throw you in here, clothes and all. You don't want your armour to get rusty, do you?"

"I'd really rather that didn't happen," Cressida said.

Sera waggled her eyebrows. "Well, what're you waiting for?"

"You drive a hard bargain."

"That's what I'm here for, yeah?"

Cressida laughed and began taking off her armour. Sera giggled, whistling playfully as each piece came off. Soon, Cressida was standing at the stop of the steps, the sunlight pleasantly warming her naked skin. She waded into the water, breathing in sharply at its coolness as it slowly rose up past her waist, coming up to just below her breasts.

Sera pushed off the bottom and swam towards her. "There you go," she said, snaking her arm around Cressida's neck. "I'll be here with you all the way. You don't have to worry about nothing." She kissed her soundly. "See, isn't the water nice?"

Cressida nodded. "Very nice," she murmured against Sera's lips. Her hands wrapped around Sera's waist and she felt Sera's hands reach up and untie the leather band keeping Cressida's voluminous black curls in place. Her glossy hair cascaded down around her shoulders, Sera's fingers running through it. Sera's lips were warm and soft against hers, the water now pleasantly cool, the air bright and fresh. Cressida's heart pounded with joy as her embrace around Sera tightened, pulling her in closer.

Suddenly, Sera pulled away and dove back into the water, kicked her feet as she went and sending up a huge wave in her wake. Water cascaded around Cressida and she waded through the pool after Sera.

Sera resurfaced a few feet away and was immediately hit with a splash of water Cressida had sent her way. Sera shrieked with laughter and swam back to her.

"You—you—you—"

"Got you," Cressida said, eyes dancing.

"Yeah," Sera said. "I deserved that."

Cressida kissed the tip of her nose. "Troublemaker."

"Don't you know it!"

Cressida let herself fall back into the water, her thick hair fanning out around her as she floated. All the pain and fatigue that had been building up in her muscles over the past two weeks drained away. "This is nice," she said, closing her eyes.

Sera splashed over to her. "I'm always filled with good ideas," she said, also floating on her back and interlinking her hand with Cressida's.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Cressida said after a moment. "When all this is over?"

"Going for the big questions already? We have to get rid of Corypheshits first."

"I know." Cressida paused, breathing in the calming smell of the woods around them. "But this is… This is something I do," she tried to explain. "Or at least it's something I would always think about, when I was in the Carta. I'd have to ask what came next. Because some tasks were just too _big_ for you to think about, and you were always just one piece in a much bigger puzzle. You never knew when an ally was going to cross you and stab you in the gut, or when a mine was going to blow up in your face, or when lyrium was going leak through its casing and bamboozle your brain. So it made things seem possible when you thought about what you would do when you finished a mission, instead of wasting all your time worrying about whether or not you were going to die in a cave-in or an explosion."

Sera let go of her hand and shifted her weight so her feet fluttered down and touched the bottom of the pool. "I love you," she said.

Cressida stood up, her sodden curls heavy on the nape of her neck. "What's this for?"

"I love you," Sera said. "I don't say it enough. And I think—when all this is over—we're gonna be amazing together, yeah?"

Cressida nodded and squeezed her hand. "Yeah."

Sera pulled her close, kissing her soundly. They stood in the pool, the water lapping gently around their bodies, the warm afternoon sunlight shining down upon them. It was just for a few hours, but as they played, joked and made love, it was a few hours of quiet and unassuming bliss.


End file.
